Revisiting the Hornets' PJ Washington trade a year and a half later

Only a few hours ago, the Dallas Mavericks extended forward PJ Washington on a four-year, $90 million contract extension with the team, ESPN's Shams Charania reported.

Washington averaged 14.7 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 45.3% from the field and 38.1% from three across 57 games last season with the Mavericks.

It's his second season with Dallas, after President of Basketball Operations Nico Harrison brought in the wing during the 2024 trade deadline. The Mavs went on to make an NBA Finals run, losing to the Boston Celtics in five games.

The trade came during a fire sale from the Charlotte Hornets organization last season, where the team traded three veterans in Washington, Terry Rozier (Miami Heat), and Gordon Hayward (OKC Thunder). Of the three, Washington is the only one who has received an extension, as the Heat are now looking to deal Rozier and Hayward retired after a few short months with the Thunder.

While the other two deals are clear wins for the Buzz, as they were able to net guard Tre Mann along with draft capital, what about the Washington deal?

Mavs receive:

P.J. Washington
2024-second-round pick
2028 second-round pick

Hornets receive:

Grant Williams
Seth Curry
2027 first-round pick

After 4.5 seasons with the franchise, the Hornets sent PJ to the Mavericks in exchange for Grant Williams, a forward who had only spent 47 games with the Mavs despite the lucrative 4 year, $53 million deal they gave him in the offseason, Seth Curry a guard who was only playing 12.7 minutes a game in his third stint with the Mavs, and a top-three protected 2027 first-round pick.

After two seasons, the deal looks like a win for Dallas. Washington was an important piece to the team's NBA Finals run, and will be an important piece going forward, likely off the bench. With Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and Cooper Flagg, it's likely we'll see Dallas play basketball in June again soon.

For the Hornets, Curry spent 1.5 seasons with the franchise, and has now been sitting in free agency. He averaged 6.5 points in his first full season with the team, finishing as the NBA's three-point percentage leader.

As for Williams, he looked significantly better in his stint with the Hornets than he did with the Mavs. In the final 29 games of the 2023-24 season, Williams averaged 13.9 points on 50.3% from the field and 37.3% from deep. He was set to have a bigger role in his second season with the franchise, however, a torn ACL ended his season after 16 games.

The first round pick they received was one of the most valuable draft picks in the NBA for about three months.

After the Mavericks dealt Luka Doncic away, their first round picks started to become highly sought after. The Hornets held onto their 2027 pick, albeit, top three protected. The Mavs went on to win the Draft Lottery, getting the chance to select Duke megastar Cooper Flagg.

All of a sudden, the high valued first round picks tanked, and the pick will likely end up in the 20s.

It's still too early to determine a winner on this deal. While the early turnout says Dallas won the deal, Grant Williams has yet to show what impact he can make on the squad, and there is still a first-round pick in the picture. Should said pick turn into a quality player, things might be different.

As of now, Mitch Kupchak's last significant trade as Hornets general manager was a loss.

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